Christmas is just around the corner and many clubs in the Premier League, LaLiga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1 have stocked their official stores with Christmas knitwear.
The Christmas jumper used to be an afterthought for big clubs, with many simply offering fans one or two cheap acrylic jumpers. However, times have changed and the game has definitely improved in recent years.
All the usual basic elements of the season (Santa Claus, reindeer, snowflakes, wreaths, etc.) have been presented for the occasion. But 2025 has seen an influx of designs based on retro kits from the 1990s, such is the appetite for the statement shirts of yesteryear, many of which lend themselves perfectly to being transformed into ugly wool jumpers.
We've scoured the virtual shelves of the clubs' online stores, examining the wide range of festive fashion offered by Europe's elite teams to pick out the best (and worst) designs on offer this year.
Milan has created a very appropriate white sweater for this season, the upper two-thirds of which are adorned with a Nordic pattern made up of fir trees and quirky little gnomes. Unfortunately, the Italian team set a high benchmark with a stylish “rossoneros “tartan”, which was first launched last year, and the 2025 model pales slightly in comparison.
Rating: 6/10
Based on the club's classic home shirt from 2005-06, their final season at their former Highbury stadium, Arsenal's retro-inspired Christmas jumper is a vision in gooseberry and gold. The theme is “Walking in Highbury Wonderland” and features lots of tasteful festive decorations; The highlight is the faux Premier League patches on the sleeves, with the emblem of a roaring lion reimagined as a reindeer.
Rating: 9/10
With the club's crest proudly plastered across the chest, Atleti's navy blue jersey centers around a triangular tree formed by the letters of their famous “Aúpa Atleti” sings. It's simple, cheerful, colorful and also available in pajama form if you really want to snuggle up and feel super cozy this Christmas.
Rating: 7/10
Barcelona has given a debut Christmas jersey to the Catalan club's new mascot, a cat called “Gato”, who was formally presented last November. Although Cat appears to be choking on an old leather ball stuck in his throat, we are assured that the playful feline remains “charismatic, demanding and enthusiastic about supporting the club.”
Rating: 6/10
We've seen the old “elf head” trick tried many times before, but rarely with as much panache, and this time there's actually a reason behind it. The theme is a nice play on words, the joke being that the German team is nicknamed “Die Werkself” (which roughly translates to “factory team”), while “elf” in German means the number 11.
Rating: 8/10
Low-key stuff from Bayern this year, with the Bundesliga giants eschewing the usual flashy Christmas fare in favor of relatively refined design. The deep green base, gold embroidery, and printed raglan sleeves are supposed to, for unknown reasons, make it look like you're wearing a T-shirt in the depths of a Bavarian winter.
Rating: 6.5/10
Despite their reputation for having wild kits, Dortmund have played their 2025 Christmas jumper with a straight bat. This simple snowflake pattern comes in muted shades of white, black, and yellow. The jumper is part of a wider collection, with gloves, scarves, hats and socks available in the same design. However, the real star of the show is the “Winter Wonderland” baseball cap, which features tree decorations all over it and even has a gingerbread man on the bill.
Rating: 6/10
What better source of inspiration for an ugly sweater than one of the ugliest football shirts ever created? Of course, we're referring to Celtic's infamously eye-catching 1991-92 away shirt, whose zigzag pattern has been given a festive touch with the addition of snow-capped mountains, blizzards and leaping reindeer. It's absolutely horrendous, in the best way possible.
Rating: 8/10
Another Christmas jumper inspired by a cult classic away kit from the 1990s, Chelsea have followed suit by basing their design on their 1996-98 custard yellow abomination. The original jersey has been faithfully recreated with festive decorations, but with “Santa Claus” on the abdomen as a replacement for the old sponsor logo is a fantastic finishing touch.
Rating: 8/10
Hoping to tap into the lucrative après-ski market, Inter has softened things up this year with a mountainous skyline scene running across the base of the jersey and the words “Inter Milano” across the chest. Perfect for relaxing by the fireplace of your downhill ski chalet while holding a warm mug of hot limoncello.
Rating: 7/10
As un-Christmassy as a Christmas jumper is, Juve have gone retro with a blue and yellow design loosely based on their fan-favorite away kit from 1996-98. The yellow stars on the shoulders have been replaced by snowflakes but other than that, there's not much else evident in the way of festive cheer.
Rating: 6/10
Yes, you guessed it: another retro offering, this time paying homage to Liverpool's home kit from the late 1980s. The old spiky geometric pattern has been replaced by Christmas trees, but it still looks like a pretty timid effort. There is room for improvement.
Rating: 5/10
With a couple of options to choose from, City fans can opt for a novel elf design or this Fairisle pattern featuring the club crest. Both are firmly on the generic side, but the bright colors and oversized graphics of the latter almost elevate it above the rest of the club's disappointing Christmas range.
Rating: 6/10
Man United always keep it bright and cheerful when it comes to their official Christmas attire. The Red Devils have a pun-based animated design in which Santa performs a cheerful Robin van Persie-style knee slide on the Old Trafford pitch along with a play on the title of Chris Rea's classic seasonal song “Driving Home for Christmas”.
Rating: 7.5/10
Napoli continue to proudly praise the fact of being the reigning Serie A champions and have even allowed the sentiment to carry over to their festive team. Designed by Emporio Armani, the Partenopei sweater has a fairly simple sky blue Fairisle pattern but with the addition of a giant. shield front and center…and who can blame them for wanting to show it?
Rating: 7/10
In fact, Newcastle released this black and white Fairisle jumper, with the city's unmistakable skyline stretched across the front and “Ho'way the Lads” across the back, last Christmas. But we highlight it again because now there is also a version suitable for dogs. Perfect for an evening watching coach Eddie Bow-wow's team play at St James' Bark.
Rating: 8/10
PSG tend to be a bit hit and miss when it comes to their Christmas knitwear, fluctuating between ultra-chic and super-tacky from year to year. They've landed somewhere in the middle for 2025 with what could have been a perfectly acceptable Eiffel Tower knitting pattern. However, the European champions went and covered it with the giant head of a Santa Claus character with a Viking beard and sunglasses. We have no idea what they intended, but they missed the mark.
Rating: 5/10
Here, sumptuous RB Leipzig stuff with an extra chunky knit sweater that wouldn't look out of place around the table in the music video for Wham's “Last Christmas.” The colors match well, the woven fabric is wonderful and the simplistic design of the club crest is incredibly stylish. And the best part? There's even a matching pom pom hat to complete the look.
Rating: 9/10
Real Madrid is another big club that has taken to offering a full range of Christmas jumpers for its fans, although most of this year's designs will be renewed from 2024. New to the portfolio is this fun little polyester scene, which features a penguin snowboarding on his way from the North Pole to the Bernabéu.
Rating: 6/10
German outfit St Pauli are famous for their anarcho-punk spirit, although their skull and crossbones emblem looks a little out of place on a Christmas jumper. Still, we like the monochromatic design and it would be absolutely perfect for anyone preparing to vacation aboard a 17th century pirate galleon.
Rating: 8/10
Spurs were ahead of the curve in the retro kit race after launching a cracker last Christmas that was inspired by the 1994-95 indigo away shirt made memorable by Jurgen Klinsmann's time at White Hart Lane. The club has returned to the well this year with a snow-white jersey that bears the hallmarks of their 1997-99 home kit, complete with period-appropriate snowflake-shaped ribbon.
Rating: 7/10
The Wolves, the only Premier League team to fully embrace the vulgar spirit of the season, have created what they call their “Jingle-Jangle Light Up Christmas Jumper.” It comes with old gold woven patterns, wolf heads, and real twinkling fairy lights built into the sweater. Happy *and* bright.
Rating: 8/10
Images courtesy of acmilan.com, arsenal.com, atleticodemadrid.com, bayer04.de, bvb.de, celticfc.com, chelseamegastore.com, fcbarcelona.com, fcbayern.com, fcsp-shop.com, inter.it, juventus.com, liverpoolfc.com, mancity.com, manutd.com, newcastleunited.com, psg.fr, realmadrid.com, redbullshop.com, sscnapoli.com, tottenhamhotspur.com, wolves.co.uk
